Grand Rapids is the second-largest city in Michigan. It has an estimated population of 200k people and a density of 4,474.91 per square mile. There are some great reasons to visit the city including great museums, food places, breweries, and more. If you plan on visiting the first city in the US to add Flouride to the water, you will want to be sure to add a VPN to your packing list. We can tell you more about that shortly. First, though, please take a look at the best VPNs for Grand Rapids.
| Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.8 | 160 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.4 | 87 | |
| 3 |  | 9.2 | 110 | |
| 4 |  | 9.0 | 76 | |
| 5 |  | 8.8 | 95 | |
Grand Rapids, Michigan has some really great things to experience. Of course, that includes the well-known Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. That is only one off the reasons draws in tourism to the area. Because those are great attractions in the city, there are also a large number of businesses that offer free WiFi. That is great for visitors, but it is also great for cybercrooks. That is just one of the reasons you need to connect to a VPN. If you are not connecting to a VPN, you are one of them. Whether you are just visiting the city or living there, you do not want your important information stolen. By connecting to a VPN server of your choice, you will create a layer of encryption. That makes it much tougher for those cybercrooks to steal your private data. It is an easy way of keeping yourself safe.
The next reason to connect to a VPN is to help you get around geo-restrictions and sports blackouts. On occasion, you may be stopped from seeing content. That may be due to an organizational restriction or it could be other reasons. If you try to access that content, however, you will have a problem seeing it. To solve this issue, all you have to do is connect to a VPN in a different region. That way, you can fool the blocking software into thinking you are located someplace else. Then, you should be able to view or browse your favorite content.
What is the Best VPN for Grand Rapids?
Surveillance is not a problem in Grand Rapids because is in the US. That is why we’ll take a look at access factors and tell you what the best VPN for Grand Rapids is.
- Ability to get around geo-restricted and sports blacked-out content while in Grand Rapids
- High-Speed servers that perform well on speed tests in the area when tested to Grand Rapids
- High network stability to avoid disconnects while in the region
- Mobile apps and support for Amazon Firestick devices
- Strong encryption with military grade components to protect your privacy
- Providers with a strict no-logs policy
Let’s take a more in-depth look at the best VPNs to use while in Grand Rapids.
1. Best VPN for Grand Rapids: ExpressVPN
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ExpressVPN brings together fast VPN access with MediaStreamer which acts as a Smart DNS service to unblock access to geo-restricted content. The VPN service will help encrypt your connection and unblock live sporting events. You will even find a list of the latest live entertainment and sporting events on their website. Being in the British Virgin Islands puts ExpressVPN outside the 5 eyes and 14 eyes countries. They maintain a no-log policy that has been verified through high profile legal requests over the years.
ExpressVPN manages a very large VPN network. Beyond the USA, the ExpressVPN network boasts thousands of servers in key locations to help protect user’s privacy. You can connect to their VPN network to protect your privacy, unblock censorship, and watch your favorite streaming services from anywhere.
The ExpressVPN app allows you to select a server location down to the city but you do not need to choose a specific server. Instead, the client will select the fastest server in your chosen location. You also need to know that some cities are not shown on the recommended tab inside the client. You may find that issue with servers in the area. Simply select the “All” tab, open Americas. At this point, you can select servers in Toronto. When we tested to a server in Grand Rapids, the speed was 105.64 Mbps.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of using ExpressVPN is their support for a wide range of devices. ExpressVPN offers custom VPN software for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Connect your desktop and mobile at the same time with up to 3 simultaneous connections. You can also install the ExpressVPN web extension for Chrome or Firefox. Want to protect your entire home network with a single VPN account? If so you can use the ExpressVPN router app to set it up. The MediaStreamer feature adds Smart DNS support to devices like game consoles (PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, etc.), media boxes (Apple TV, Roku, Nvidia Shield TV, etc.), and Smart TVs.
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ExpressVPN performed very well in our speed tests. They are a great choice for privacy and to unblock geo-restrictions. Customer support is available 24/7 to provide assistance and answer any questions. Enjoy the best VPN for less with confidence as ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
2. Best VPN for Grand Rapids: NordVPN
Sign up for 36 months for just $3.49 per month (70% discount)
NordVPN is based in Panama which some users prefer to using a VPN company that’s actually headquartered in the United States. You will find that NordVPN has a strong presence in the US with servers located throughout the country. Members have full access to their network in the USA and beyond for a very good price.
You will find that NordVPN has perhaps the best mix of services for the price if you subscribe to an account for a longer period of time. All users have full access to their network and custom software. You can connect using the VPN client for Windows or Mac. They also have an easy-to-use mobile app for Android and iOS (iPhone, iPad) devices. You can use the NordVPN browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. NordVPN offers some advanced privacy features like double VPN, P2P servers, and dedicated IP that really helps the service stand out.
NordVPN hosts a number of servers in Chicago. From the console, clicking on the 3 horizontal dots to the right of the country, you can locate the server area and see the percentages of the servers available. When we tested a server located in Grand Rapids, the download speed was 110.01 Mbps.
Want to access streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world? If so NordVPN is a great choice. They are one of the only VPN services that can still unblock Netflix. You can sign up for unlimited VPN and SmartDNS service from just $3.49 a month with a 3-year membership.
3. Best VPN for Grand Rapids: CyberGhost
Sign up for 36 months for just $2.75 a month (79% discount)
CyberGhost was founded in 2001 by 7 enthusiastic young team members in Bucharest, Romania. Since that time the company has grown into one of the largest VPN services in the world. The team of 50+ members is focused on protecting users privacy. Robert Knapp, co-founder and CEO, continues to lead the team even after they joined the Crossrider group in 2017. Since that time the CyberGhost network has expanded quite a bit.
CyberGhost offers a nice mix of server locations, strong encryption, and the ability to unblock popular streaming services like Netflix, YouTube Red, and Amazon Prime. Some of the channels even let you unblock geo-restrictions for multiple regions. For example, you can access Netflix content in the US, UK, Italy, Germany, France and Japan. The Windows client also gives you the option to surf anonymously, protect WiFi, torrent anonymously, unblock basic websites (Google, Facebook Instagram, etc.), and choose a server.
Since we wanted to test a server in Chicago, we opened the Windows client and clicked on the “Choose My Server” option. From there you can expand any country and select a specific server. From there, we tested a speed server located in Grand Rapids to test the performance. As you can see, our download speed was 108.05 Mbps.
The CyberGhost VPN client is one of our favorites. It is very easy to use and includes a number of advanced features to help protect your online privacy. They have a development team in Germany that is continually adding features to the client and mobile apps. You can sign up for full access to the CyberGhost network from just $2.75 a month during their current promotion.
4. Best VPN for Grand Rapids: IPVanish
Sign up for 12 months for just $4.87 a month (60% discount)
IPVanish is a very popular service and has many servers located all over the world. No matter which continent you are on, you can a solid performance from the servers there. They are typically fast, and the provider has one of the largest networks in the world.
Along with its large world network, IPVanish hosts servers in every continent other than Antarctica. As we mentioned, they usually are one of the fastest providers in the marketplace. It is known for having multiple server locations in a number of countries. You can select a location or get more specific by picking an individual server. IPVanish is excellent for protecting your privacy but can be hit and miss for unblocking popular streaming services.
IPVanish has servers all over the region and they are all available to you. If you happen to see a server that has the letter “a” as part of its server name, those are the fastest in the network. We connected to an IPVanish server in Chicago. The speed was 106.92 Mbps.
When it comes to value IPVanish is hard to beat. They offer unlimited access to their VPN network and custom software for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Amazon Firestick and more for $7.50 a month or $58.49 a year. That works out to just $4.87 a month on the annual plan. A 7-day money-back guarantee covers all new members.
5. Best VPN for Grand Rapids: PIA
Sign up for 12 months for just $3.33 a month (67% discount)
Private Internet Access (PIA) gives users a few different options. Unlike in the past, you no longer have to set up a profile for each VPN server. Now, you can connect to any of their server locations in 33 countries. The PIA team has organized their servers by region, country, and city. You will find the speed to be fast most of the time.
There are a lot of torrent users who love Private Internet Access. The service includes a feature that will stop your system from communicating if the connection to their service drops. Meaning if your encrypted VPN access is dropped for any reason it will keep you safe.
PIA offers a Windows client and other apps that are simple and easy to use. However, you won’t want to underestimate it. PIA offers different levels of privacy protection depending on your needs. You can control encryption levels to help you find the right balance between privacy and speed.
PIA offers a Windows client and other apps that are simple and easy to use. However, you won’t want to underestimate it. PIA offers different levels of privacy protection depending on your needs. You can control encryption levels to help you find the right balance between privacy and speed. We connected to a server in Chicago and came up with a speed of 109.18 Mbps.
When it comes to their Windows client the PIA team has included an Internet kill switch. The kill switch will kill your Internet connection anytime the VPN fails. That can really come in handy for those wanting to ensure anonymity. Private Internet Access offers VPN from $3.33 a month along with a 7-day money-back guarantee.
If a trip to Grand Rapids is in your future plans, you won’t want to use Wi-Fi there without connecting to a VPN. As you can see, we have given you some of our favorite options above. Of course, there are more on our top 10 VPN list. While they will perform well while you are in Grand Rapids, we optimized our choices for the best access while in the region. That way, you can protect your privacy, get around geo-restrictions, and of course protect from any of the potential sports blackouts while in the area. When you read our guide, a great decision.